


third act

by carmencatalina



Category: SGU - Fandom, Stargate Universe
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-27
Updated: 2011-11-27
Packaged: 2017-11-01 14:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/357856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carmencatalina/pseuds/carmencatalina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>My hands are cold.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	third act

**Author's Note:**

> A snippet set after ["Give me your hand"](http://carmencatalina.livejournal.com/802.html)  and ["That ends the night"](http://carmencatalina.livejournal.com/1154.html) – never finished.

**Title:**   Third Act.  
   
 **Author:** carmencatalina  
   
 **Fandom:** SGU  
 **Pairing:** Young/Rush  
 **Disclaimer:** They aren’t mine. If they were, I would have taken better care of them than MGM and SyFy, I think.  
 **Rating:** PG-13, for language.  
 **Author's Note:** A snippet set after ["Give me your hand"](http://carmencatalina.livejournal.com/802.html)  and ["That ends the night"](http://carmencatalina.livejournal.com/1154.html) – never finished.  
 **Spoilers:** Takes place sometime after episode 1.10, “Justice”.  
   
 **Summary:** _My hands are cold._

\-------------------------------------------------  
   
 _There must be a point at which the system updates and the main program execution sequence awaits input. Perhaps when the seeder ships send back new data. Have we looked at the code streams during updates to see if there is some sort of input loop? I should have Eli try to configure an interrupt command . . ._  
   
“Ok, now just follow the light with your eyes – don’t move your head – Dr. Rush?”  
   
T.J. sighs and straightens up, lowering the penlight. “Dr. Rush?”  
   
He looks up at her, seemingly surprised to find her there. As if he has forgotten where he was, what he was doing. He shifts a bit on the examination bed.  
   
“Yes?”  
   
“I need you to follow the light with your eyes, please. Keep your head still.”  
   
“Lieutenant Johannsen, I’ve already told you, I’m quite well.”  
   
“You had a blow to the head, you spent several days without adequate food and water, and you were borderline hypothermic. The rules say you have to let me examine you again.”  
   
“The rules?”  
   
“Yeah, my rules. My infirmary, my rules. Now, please follow the light with your eyes and keep your head still.”  
   
\-------------------------------------------------  
   
   
Rush stands a few feet from where Young is seated, papers spread over his desk. The colonel is wearing his reading glasses, the low light in the room catches a small gleam from the lenses. Rush’s hands are loose at his sides; he closes them into fists, opens them again.  
   
 _My hands are cold._  
   
He clears his throat – Young keeps his head bowed over the desk, making a note on the list in front of him. In the silence, Rush can hear the faint scratching of pencil on paper.  
   
“On the planet you – you kissed me. Twice.”  
   
Young doesn’t look up, just shakes his head back and forth slightly over the desk.  
   
“Counting, were we?” he says, mildly.  
   
Rush takes a breath, lets it out slowly. His chest feels tight. Unwanted, a memory comes to his mind, of sitting in the shadow of an alien ship. His hands were cold there, too, even though the air temperature was warm.  
   
“And before – on the other planet, you – you left me. You didn’t come back for me – you left me to die.”  
   
He is aware of a fine tremor in his voice and he hates it, the weakness, anger seeping through like a stain. Anger and something else, maybe fear, but he wasn’t afraid of Young, not anymore. Why would he still be afraid of Young – it was anger that made his voice sound that way.  
   
“You were hoping I would die there, that you would be rid of me.”  
   
Young finally looks at him, leaning back in his chair and removing his glasses. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair – it is getting long, starting to form curls. Rush wonders if he will have Becker shave it off, the way some of the others have already done.  
   
“Rush, you don’t need to tell me how fucked up – how fucked up all of this is. How fucked up _we_ are. You and me.”  
   
Young’s words are soft and resigned. Rush thinks he can feel them float across and brush against him. Against the tightness of his chest, against the answering tremor in his voice.  
   
“Well, as long as you are _aware_ of the situation, Colonel, what more could I possibly ask for? I suppose I should be _grateful_ that, unlike nearly every _other_ important fact regarding the current status of this ship, I don’t need to _tell_ you – “  
   
“For Christ’s sake, Rush, can’t you ever just give it a rest? Does everything have to be a goddamned battle to the finish?” Young stands up, the chair scraping back against Destiny’s deck plating with a slight screech of metal on metal. There is another screech – a pop of sound from Young’s radio.  
   
“Yeah, Young here. What’s up?”  
   
Lieutenant Scott’s voice comes through the radio, slightly distorted.  
   
“Sir, we’re getting some sort of data upload from one of the seeder ships – Dr. Rush asked Eli to contact him when the new program they set up pinged, but he doesn’t have his radio on and – “  
   
“He’s here with me, Lieutenant. I’ll send him down. Young out.”  
   
Young places the radio on the desk in front of him, and gazes levelly at the scientist standing in front of him.  
   
“Looks like your program worked.”  
   
Rush has to swallow past a dry throat, the earlier torrent of words turned to dust and nothing in his mouth.  
   
“Apparently.”  
   
Young continues to stare at him, and Rush drops his eyes, turning to leave. Young’s voice trails after him. “Rush – “  
   
The scientist doesn’t answer, and continues to walk away.  
   
 _My hands are cold._


End file.
